By Thameen Kheetan

AMMAN - Jordanian filmmakers, producers and officials on Wednesday launched the country's first free-of-charge cinema library at the Royal Film Commission (RFC) headquarters in the capital.

Housing 1,142 films and 828 books related to the cinema industry, the library is located in the RFC Film House, which was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Nader Dahabi on Wednesday to serve as a "local and regional hub for creativity and filmmaking".

Their Royal Highnesses Prince Ali, chairman of the RFC board of commissioners, and Princess Rym Ali attended the inauguration of the Film House, which also features a workshop area, an "equipment bank" that lends cameras and machinery needed for film shooting, editing software, an outdoor theatre, a café and a terrace that overlooks the Citadel and downtown of Amman.

Six years after its establishment, the RFC opened the Film House to "support and develop the film industry by offering Jordanians of all backgrounds a place and opportunity" to produce short and long films, according to an RFC statement.

One of them is 25-year-old Fadi Haddad, who has attended RFC workshops on several aspects of filmmaking, including scriptwriting, scene shooting and editing, and has directed four films. He is now studying for a master’s degree at the Aqaba-based Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts.

"One of the most important things they did is the library… it's really phenomenal," Haddad told The Jordan Times yesterday, adding that it has movies that are not usually available on TV or in stores.

For his films, Haddad used equipment from the RFC, which also helped him obtain official authorisation to shoot in various locations in the Kingdom.

"The commission is building a film culture… it is important that people know there is film industry in Jordan," he noted.

For Dalia Al Kury, who has directed 12 documentaries so far, the new facility is a "backbone" for filmmakers.

"We need such a place because there is nowhere else for us to meet… we have no syndicate," she noted.

The 28-year-old has helped beginners with their film shoots as part of RFC workshops that aim at promoting the Kingdom’s cinema industry.

Last year, Jordan's first feature film in 50 years, “Captain Abu Raed”, won the World Cinema Audience Award for a dramatic piece at the Utah-based Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Amin Matalqa, the movie was also the first in the country's history to be submitted to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to be considered for an Oscar nomination.

The Kingdom’s first feature film, "A Struggle in Jerash", directed by Wasif Sheikh in 1957, can found at the Film House library.